no he didnt. if after 200+ races you dont have a podium get the fuck out of the sport.
I know you're ragebaiting and I appreciate the attempt, but you forgot to consider that in the majority of his career Hulkenberg was not in a car that could achieve podiums.
The only podium-capable cars he ever drove were the Force Indias (and if we stretch the idea, probably the 2018 Renault) - though he only did 4 seasons full-time with Force India and often languished to more promising drivers like Sergio Perez. Though it is quite ironic that Perez is now the one without a seat because Red Bull are incompetent with their second car.
The rest of his full-time seasons were spent in midfield or backmarker cars like the 2023 Haas and 2019 Renault, and he actually had taken three years off full-time driving from 2020 until the start of 2023, IIRC making a few reserve appearances for RP/Aston Martin.
It was a major shakeup due to the shitty track conditions, so there are also elements of that podium being a fluke like the double Alpine podium last year at Brazil, which I think most people agree with, and is part of the point you're trying to make.
He would definitely need to leave the sport if the majority of his 239 race starts were with a top flight team and he took that long to get a podium though. It would be like Hamilton spending all that time with the all-so-dominant Mercedes cars of 2014-2021 and only achieving a single podium.
